Articles
Heat pumps:
lost in standards…and found
LAURENT SOCAL
Consultant
socal@iol.it
Introduction from RJ Editor in Chief
We are aware that the length of this article is
exceptional. However, given the relevance of
this article for our professional community we
decided to allow this. The prEN 15316-4-2 on
Heat Pump systems will be published for enquiry
late 2021. This article supports the under-
standing of the revisions and the improved and
extended procedure included in this standard.
In RJ 2021-04 we also included an article from
Socal, this article focused on the product
standards. To understand this article and the
revision of the HP System standard some
knowledge of these HP product standards is
advised. The most relevant product standards
for heat pumps are EN 14511 and EN 14825,
maybe 16247 for domestic hot water heaters.
REHVA hopes that by publishing this article
we will contribute to a lively and constructive
enquiry phase of this standard. We also advice
our readers to access the supporting informa-
tion on this issue at the EPB Center website:
www.epb.center. — Jaap Hogeling
6 REHVA Journal – October 2021
Keywords:
EPBD - CEN - standards - heat pump
Summary
The draft of the revised EN 15316-4-2 will be pub-
lished for public enquiry in the next months. This
article analyses the main features of this new text.
The calculation procedure has been organised
according to a new frame which is independent of
the heat pump typology and calculation paths and
options. Then the specific features of the two main
calculation paths are presented.
“Path A” still requires some discussion and attention
on the correction of COP for part load. Several such
correction methods are included in the draft to allow
testing them. Even the definition of “part load” itself
deserves some more attention.
Some more insight is provided about “path B”. The
test conditions used in EN 14825 are presented. This
makes clear why it’s not straightforward to extract the
information on the dependency of the COP from each
parameter: they all vary from one test point to the
other.
The temperature pattern within the heat pump is
illustrated in details, including what happens if the
fans of the evaporator and condenser modulate or they
do not. This results in a possible trade-off between
comfort and energy performance that might be taken
into account in the calculation method.
Finally, it is suggested to introduce a mechanism to
allow some tolerance for a transient power output
deficit of the heat pump when a peak for domestic
hot water production occurs. Without this feature,
the risk is to invalidate the whole calculation process
without a real reason.

Introduction
The former article already introduced EN 15316-4-2
and some basic features of the draft new revision, that
should be published for public enquiry in the coming
months (late autumn 2021).
This article will analyse more in details the contents
and technical background of this new draft.
The frame
There are several types of heat pumps and several
possible alternatives for the calculation of the energy
performance of heat pumps.
The first concern when drafting this revision was estab-
lishing a clear common frame that could:
• support all the various calculation options for each
heat pump typology;
• guarantee in all cases the connection with the
general calculation frame set-up by EN 15316-1;
• handle several operating conditions in the same
calculation interval.
The result is a reviewed step-by-step procedure which
is summarised in Annex C of the new draft. For each
step, the available alternatives and the reference to the
relevant clause are given in tables.
Step 1 is the acquisition of the required energy
output per each service provided in the calculation
interval. This information comes from the general
part EN 15316-1. Currently, the draft supports
two services: space heating and domestic hot water.
Additional foreseen services can be a direct connection
to a hot water storage and space cooling. In fact, now
that the frame is defined and working, one realises that
it could be used for cooling as well.
Step 2 is the calculation of the source temperature,
depending on source type and operating conditions.
This is a missing part in the current EN 15316-4-2,
which considers only external air. Actually, the issue is
only partially solved in the draft revision because there
are only simplified models for such sources as ground
heat exchangers.
It would be interesting to develop models for the ground
exchangers that are also used for free cooling or free
heating. Some attention will be required to avoid itera-
tions if the model should take into account the power
required from the source: simplifying assumptions like
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an estimated COP may be a good solution. Sources like
ground water and surface water need measured local data.
Step 3 is the calculation of the sink temperature per each
service. This is an important information that comes from
the general part EN 15316-1. For a correct calculation of
heat pump performance, the use of the procedures given
in annex C (heating circuit operating temperatures) and
D (generators circuit temperatures) of EN 15316-1 is
essential. These annexes are basic methods but additional
options and related procedures may be developed nation-
ally. An example of a useful additional feature is a simple
heating curve (flow temperature as a function of outdoor
temperature). Methods in annex C of EN 15316-1 are
all based on heat demand, since they were primarily
developed for use with a monthly method.
If cooling would be integrated in the frame as an addi-
tional service, then the role of source and sink in steps
2 and 3 shall be exchanged.
At step 4, source and sink temperatures are known and the
operational and control limits are checked. Operational
limits are the maximum and minimum operating tem-
peratures of source and sink for the heat pump. It is the
physical limit of the machine. Control limits are control
set-points, that may be set e.g. to select which generator
to run for economic or energy efficiency reasons.
If the limit temperature is exceeded for one service,
then there will be no contribution of the heat pump
to that service in the calculation interval
At step 5, the required services are assigned a priority
level.
Currently there is only one criterion: domestic hot
water first, at full power, then space heating using
the remaining time in the calculation interval. Other
criteria are possible but not yet defined. However, it
has to be noted that this scheme probably covers 99%
of real situations. If space cooling were added, it would
replace space heating in the sequence.
At step 6, the maximum available power for each
service is determined, taking into account source and
sink temperature. This is needed to define:
• the required operation time for the high priority
services;
• if the required output for the least priority service
can be fulfilled in the remaining time in the calcula-
tion interval.
REHVA Journal – October 2021 7
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Here the calculation method depends on the path:
• for path A (based on EN 14511 data), the maximum
available power is known as a function of source and
sink temperature;
• for path B (based on EN 14825 data), there is only
one value of maximum power and the increase in
available power output with source temperature is
not known.
Which calculation path to use is determined by the
heat pump typology, according to the criterion given
in table B.40, which allows full flexibility.
At step 7, the running time and load factor (LRx) for
each priority are determined, based on the required
output energy and the available power as a function
of operating temperatures.
Typically, the domestic hot water service (if required)
will be supplied at full load (LRw = 1) whilst the space
heating will be supplied at the resulting part load
LRh. If LRh is greater than 1, that means that the
heat pump cannot satisfy the load: LRh is assumed
equal to 1 and the remaining energy will be supplied
by the integrated back-up or by the next generator in
the sequence (if there is one).
Step 8 is the calculation of the main energy input for
each priority.
Two calculation paths are possible for this step:
• path A, which is based on a map of full load COP
(EN 14511 data) and then a correction according
to part load;
• path B, which is based EN 14825 which provide
a correlation between the output power and the II
principle efficiency of the compressor.
More details are given in the following dedicated
clauses in this article.
Annex C of the standard gives some more details about
each calculation path:
• steps 11 to 19 for path A
• steps 21 to 29 for path B.
Which calculation path to use is determined by the
heat pump typology, according to the criterion given
in table B.41, which allows full flexibility.
At the end of the sections, step 19 or 29, the main
energy input for each service is known.
8 REHVA Journal – October 2021
Step 30 is the calculation of back-up energy. This
should be used only for a back-up which is integrated in
the heat pump. Handling a sequence of generators and
dispatching the required heat to the available genera-
tors is a task of the general part module, EN 15316-1.
Currently the back-up calculation assumes that there is
a back-up with a maximum power available and that it
can fulfil the remaining heat demand using the whole
calculation interval.
This is a simplified initial model but the following
observations may lead to an update after public enquiry.
• The whole calculation interval is not always available.
If domestic hot water is provided in the first part
of the calculation interval, heating can be provided
only in the remaining time.
• Assuming that the calculation interval is available
for back-up operation means simultaneous opera-
tion of the main compressor and of the back-up,
which should be possible without overloading the
electricity supply.
• The electric back-up may be used to overcome the
temperature limitation, not the missing power.
As an example, legionella cycle may ask for a flow
temperature of 70°C. If this is not possible for the
main compressor, the final heating from e.g. 60°C
to 70°C may be covered by the electric back-up.
Some improvement is possible here but it involves also
coordination with the general part (when is legionella
cycle required?).
Step 31 deals with external auxiliaries for each priority.
External auxiliaries are all those auxiliaries that are not
taken into account into the COP declaration.
This is especially relevant for absorption heat pumps and
for some types of sources (ground water, surface water,
ground heat exchangers) where pumping energy may be
significant. In the absence of a standardised way to declare
these auxiliaries, a first simple model, common to several
other system standards, is proposed: the values of auxiliary
power is asked at zero, minimum modulation and full
power, then you interpolate between these points.
Step 32 deals with losses towards the environment for
each priority.
At step 33, all results for each priority are attributed
to the pertaining service.

Step 34 deals with the collection of all data and the
generation of partial performance indicators.
This frame allows:
• the selection of the appropriate method depending
on the heat pump typology, which is specified via a
number of tables in informative annex B (B.38 to
B.42) that can be superseded by a national version;
• adding, combining, updating and upgrading each
step of the procedure in the future revisions.
In the following, specific aspects of the method are
presented with more details.
Specific features of path A
Extrapolation and interpolation
The starting point of path A for any typology of heat
pump is the performance map at full load, depending
on source and sink temperature. This includes two
maps, actually two tables of values:
• one for full load power output;
• the second for full load COP.
The reference source and sink temperatures for each
type of source and sink are taken from EN 14511 and
the table can be filled with data according to EN 14511.
Maximum power output and COP for other conditions
are calculated by linear interpolation or extrapolation.
As in the previous version of the standard, if less data
is available (the extreme case is having only one value
e.g. power output and COP at A7W35), default mul-
tiplying factors are provided to fill in the whole table
starting from one known values as shown in Figure 1.
Source temperature
Sink temperature
3.94
Mul�plying factor
Figure 1. Sample performance map for an AW heat pump (full load COP).
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If data from EN 14511 (or other typology specific
standard) is known, the whole table can be filled
in with the declared values. Examples are given in
annex D of the draft review of the standard.
The principle is the same for all typologies of heat
pumps. The reference temperatures only depend
on the source and sink type. Heat pumps may also
operate in summer, for domestic hot water service
or if reheat is needed for dehumidification. In this
case, the array of air source temperatures shall include
values up to about 30°C. Extrapolation from 12°C is
very likely to be inaccurate.
What is full load?
One potential issue is the definition of “full load”.
Obviously, for on-off heat pumps (or staged units
with several on-off compressors) there is no doubt,
there is only one possible operating condition at “full
load”.
Modulating heat pump use a variable speed drive
of the compressor, typically an inverter. In that
case, the on-board software may intentionally limit
the maximum compressor speed depending on the
outdoor temperature. This makes sense because it is
unlikely that you need the full power for heating at
15°C outdoor temperature, except if you also have to
produce domestic hot water or if you need to recover
after an indoor temperature set-back. This also avoids
to operate in a condition where the power output
is potentially very high and this requires oversized
exchangers (evaporator and condenser) otherwise the
COP drops because of their poor approach[1]at high
power (see also next clause).
Mul�plying factor
REHVA Journal – October 2021 9
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An example of such performance map with intentional
heat output limitation is given in Figure 2, where the
output power is electronically limited above −5°C. You
may also note that data for domestic hot water opera-
tion are provided as well (12 to 30°C air temperature,
45 to 55 leaving water temperature).
In this case, it should be taken into account that data
above −5°C are not full load but already part load when
performing the correction for part load operation. A
possible solution is to report the compressor speed for
each declared maximum power performance data. It is
known and it would make it easy to avoid an incorrect
estimation of part load correction.
How to correct for part load
There are several effects that may contribute to the
change of COP at part load:
• the decrease of the approach of evaporator and con-
denser, that results in lower temperature ad pressure
difference between condenser and evaporator;
• the change in heated fluid temperature difference
(e.g. heated indoor air flowing through the con-
denser) when inlet temperature of heated fluid is
used as a reference;
• auxiliaries (such as evaporator fan or circulation pumps
for an absorption heat pump) may run at constant or
variable speed. At constant speed this allows a reduc-
tion of the approach due to less power to transfer but
the relative effect of auxiliaries on COP increases.
An example of the effect of part load on operating
conditions is given in figures 3 and 4 that show the
temperatures in the refrigeration cycle of an air to
water heat pump at full load and part load with the
same source and sink temperature.

Power output, kW

Outdoor air temperature, °C

Figure 2. Sample performance map for an AW heat pump (full load power, electronically limited).

80°C 80°C
2°C 46°C 35°C 5°C 45°C 35°C
100% 100%

7°C 0°C 2°C 38°C 7°C 4°C 5°C 37°C

100% 0°C 36°C 30°C 100% 4°C 35°C 33°C

Figure 3. Example of full load operating conditions for Figure 4. Example of part load operating conditions
an air to water heat pump. for the same air to water heat pump.

10 REHVA Journal – October 2021


The temperature difference between condenser and
evaporator changes from 38°C (38–0) to 33°C (37–4).
The contributing factors are:
• a reduction of the outdoor air temperature drop on
the evaporator (−3°C)
• a reduction of the approach in the evaporator (−1°C)
• a reduction of the approach in the condenser (-1°C)
This is likely to result in an increase of COP of 15%,
if the compressor operates with the same II principle
efficiency. Knowing the initial approaches and tem-
perature differences on evaporator and condenser, it
is an easy and reasonably accurate way to estimate
the increase of the compressor efficiency at part load.
However, you have to take into account also that the
evaporator fan is running at constant speed, so this will
affect more the COP at part load and partly compen-
sate the increase in compressor COP.
A manufacturer may decide to reduce the evaporator
fan speed at part load. In doing so, the auxiliary energy
will be reduced but the reduction of the evaporator
approach will be lost. This option could be triggered
also by the intention to reduce noise of the outdoor
unit.
In this draft review of the standard, several methods
are proposed for the correction of COP at part load,
which were already presented in the previous article:
• default correction factors as a function of part load;
• given as a series of tabulated values depending on the
heat pump typology (for absorption heat pumps);
• given as parameters for a standardised curve
(optimum load factor, maximum increase of COP,
etc) as specified in a DIN method for air to water
heat pumps;
• as a function of the parameters Cd (EN 14825
method), for ON-OFF operation
• assuming a share of auxiliary power at full load
and some increase of net compressor efficiency at
an optimum part load (the method in the current
version of the standard)
Which method to use depending on the heat pump
typology and the required parameters are specified in
tables B.11 through B.14 and B.42 in annex B to the
draft EN 15316-4-2.
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Specific features of path B
The principle
The intent of the so called “path B” is to leverage test
data measured according to EN 14825.
The testing conditions considered by EN 14825 for
air to air and air to water heat pumps are:
• 4 points at outdoor temperature of −7, +2, +7 and
+12°C, identified by the letters A, B, C and D;
• the “bivalent temperature”, labelled “BIV” (or “F”),
at which it is assumed that the test load (called
“building load”) matches the heat pump maximum
output (i.e. CR is 100%, see previous article on
heat pumps);
• the minimum operating temperature of the heat
pump, labelled “TOL” (or “E”) for temperature
operation limit;
• point “G” is an optional test point at −15°C, which
is required only if SCOP for cold climate is declared.
The difficulty is that all three operating parameters
(source and sink temperature, power output) are
changing in each test point, according to the following
rules.
• Source temperature (external air temperature) TX is
defined for points A, B, C, D (TA, TB, TC and TD)
and optional point G (TG).
• The sink temperature is 20°C for air-to-air heat
pumps. It is a linear function of the external tem-
perature for air-to-water heat pumps and values are
shown in table 1 for medium temperature applica-
tion.
• The testing power PX is a linear function of external
air temperature and the results are shown in
Table 1. For the average climate, the design power
PDES occurs at TDES= −10°C and PX=0 at 16°C.
However, if the heat pump operates ON-OFF in
point D (and possibly C), then the COP is measured
only in the ON condition and a degradation factor
is used to correct the measured COP value.
The testing power is called “building load” because the
heat demand decreasing linearly with outdoor temper-
ature simulates the behaviour of a building. Actually,
there is no building: this assumption is coupled with
a bin distribution to generate a weighting factor of
the measured COPs in the four test points A to D, to
obtain the SCOP.
Given size of the heat pump, the testing power can
be adjusted by the manufacturer. TBIV can be selected
REHVA Journal – October 2021 11
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freely in the interval from TA to TDES. Two common Figures 5 and 6 show the temperatures in an air to air
choices are the following. heat pump at full load.

• TBIV=TDES. This means that the heat pump can
provide the whole fictive load in all test points and
up to TDES = −10°C. No back-up energy is taken
into account in the calculation of SCOP.
• T BIV=TA. This means that the heat pump can
provide the fictive load only until TBIV=TA= −7°C
The consequence is that in the determination of the
SCOP, some back-up electric energy is included in
the calculation, which reduces the COP at point A.
This is possibly compensated by a reduced penalty
at point D, where the heat pump may operate
ON-OFF due to the minimum load.
The first part of the calculation method in path B
aims at determining the evaporation and condensation
temperature, given the source and sink temperatures
and the power output in the available points. In the
example shown in figures 5 and 6, the starting point
are the temperatures of external air and indoor air, 7°C
and 20°C respectively.
80°C
3°C 42°C
100%

The resulting test conditions combination is shown 7°C 1°C 2°C 20°C 32°C 30°C
in Table 1 for the average climate and medium tem-
perature application and for a heat pump that has an 100% 100%
1°C 31°C
actual power output of 10 kW at −7°C, depending on
the choice for TBIV.

It is obviously not easy to extract the influence of a Figure 5. Example of full load operating conditions for
single parameter from this data-set. an air-to-air heat pump.

To overcome this difficulty, this calculation path

assumes that the II principle efficiency 2 of the com-
pressor be a function only of the required output
power. This correlation is extracted once for all from
the test data according to EN 14825. So, the procedure
is:
• calculate II principle efficiency dependency on the
required output power;
• calculate II principle efficiency for the required
power output;
• calculate COP based on source and sink tempera-
ture and II principle efficiency.
The first assumption is that the temperature difference
between respectively:
• the outdoor air (source) temperature (7°C) and the
evaporation temperature (1°C)
• the condensation temperature (32°C) and the
indoor air (sink) temperature (20°C)
are proportional to the output power. This is the cal-
culation performed in tables E.3 and E.5 of annex E
to EN 15316-4-2.

Table 1. The resulting test conditions combination for the average climate and medium temperature application and
for a heat pump that has an actual power output of 10 kW at −7°C, depending on the choice for TBIV.
Condition Outdoor air Outlet water Test power with Test power with
temperature temperature TBIV = TA TBIV = TDES
= −7°C = −10°C
°C °C kW kW
E (DES) −10 55 11.3 (PDES) 9.0 (PDES)
F (BIV) −10…−7 52 10.0 9.0
A −7 52 10.0 8.0
B 2 42 6.1 4.8
C 7 35 3.9 3.1
D 12 30 3.7 2.9

12 REHVA Journal – October 2021

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It has to be noted that these differences are made of COP value is corrected for intermittency using the
two components: Cd factor method.
The next step is calculating the evaporation and
• the approach of the condenser and the evaporator, condensation temperature in the actual operating
which is likely to be proportional to power; conditions in the calculation interval and the corre-
• the temperature difference of the air flowing through sponding ideal COP using the Carnot equation.
the evaporator and through the condenser, which
is proportional to the power if the air flow rate is Finally, you obtain the calculated COP at actual
constant. operating conditions by applying to the ideal COP
the interpolated II principle efficiency at actual
As an example, looking at Figure 5, flowing through power output resulting from the function shown in
the condenser, indoor air temperature increases from Figure 7. If the actual output power is lower than that
20 to 30°C at full load. The leaving air temperature at point D (≈6 kW), then the actual COP at point D
will be 25°C at 50% load only if the indoor unit fan is further corrected for intermittency using the Cd
will be still running at full speed. factor method.
Second principle efficiency values
Once the evaporation and condensation temperature 0.50
are known in the available test points, then the II prin- C
0.40 TOL
ciple efficiency is calculated for each available point
D
and associated to the output power in that point. 0.30
B A BIV
0.20
The result is a function like the one in Figure 7. 0.10
0.00
At point D, the heat pump is often operating 0 5 10 15 20
ON-OFF. That’s why points C and D are quite near Output power
in this example: test data in point D do not refer to the
actual operating condition but only to the ON con- Figure 7. Example of resulting function: II principle
dition at minimum modulation. Then the measured efficiency as a function of output power.

 

 




 
 
 

 






 
 


Figure 6. Example of full load temperature diagram along an air-to-air heat pump compression cycle.

REHVA Journal – October 2021 13

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Again, it is assumed that the source and sink fluids flow
rates in the evaporator and condenser stay constant.
This means that the part load operating conditions
corresponding to Figure 5 (full load operating condi-
tions) should be as shown in Figure 8.
The decrease in condensation temperature at part load
(32°C to 26°C) is obtained if the air flow rate through
the condenser stays constant. That’s one of the reasons
for the COP peak at part load. If the condenser fan
(indoor unit) modulates, then the operating conditions
might be as shown in Figure 9.
That means that “quiet operation” requires some
trade-off between comfort and efficiency and the
control strategy of the fan should be somehow taken
into account. This is generally true, it is not a specific
issue of path B.
Limitations of the current path B method
The current version of the path B method has some
limitations in the possible use.
One limitation issues from the data-set provided by
EN 14825: data on the maximum output power is
available only for on-off heat pumps. For modulating
heat pumps, it is assumed that the maximum power
is that at the bivalent temperature. The increase in
available power with higher source temperature is not
described. This makes it difficult to handle situations
with multiple generators, where one has to determine
the contribution of each one based on their capacity.
Another limitation (also because of EN 14825 data-
set) is the lack of information on the behaviour when
producing domestic hot water and when operating in
summer. A broad extrapolation would be required.

Once evaporation and condensation temperatures One or several path B

are known in actual operating conditions, then the In the text of EN 15316-4-2 and in the accompanying
COP in the actual operating conditions is calculated spreadsheet, you will find separate clauses and separate
according to the II principle efficiency at the actual calculation procedures for air to air and air to water
output power. heat pumps. The concept of the procedure is the same
but the information available (input data list), the
exceptions and particular cases have differences that
make it simpler to have separate procedures.
80°C
5°C 37°C The tables
50% In the examples in annex E (and in the current
accompanying spreadsheet), calculation path B is
7°C 4°C 5°C 20°C 26°C 25°C demonstrated using tables. This is to better explain
the procedure. In the revision following public enquiry
100% 100% the tables should disappear from the standard and
4°C 26°C
the spreadsheet and shall be replaced by the required
equations.

Figure 8. 50% load operating condition, coherent with The entire calculation of the second principle effi-
path B assumptions and Figure 5 full load conditions. ciency as a function of the required output power (i.e.
everything required to establish the graph in Figure 7)
should be moved to a separate section to be applied
only once for all when the product data of the heat
80°C pump is defined. There is no need to perform it at
5°C 41°C each calculation interval.
50%

7°C 4°C 5°C 20°C 31°C 30°C

Further improvements
Transient deficit
100% 100% A possible supplementary feature for the hourly
4°C 31°C
method, is to allow a transient delay in the heat pump
output. When there is a request for domestic hot water
Figure 9. 50% load operating condition, if condenser in one hour, it has priority over heating and it takes
fan modulates. significant time to restore the set-point conditions into

14 REHVA Journal – October 2021


the storage. During peak heating request, the remaining
time available in the hour can be too short to satisfy the
heating demand, even at full load. Computationally
there would be a part of the heating demand which
is not satisfied. Actually, if the heat pump is correctly
sized, this is just a transient deficit that will be recov-
ered in the following hours. Due to the building time
constant, the effect on comfort (temperature drop)
is not perceivable. If the heat pump is undersized,
the heat output deficit will not be recovered, it will
increase hour by hour and day by day.
This feature can be easily introduced by:
• saving as a calculation output the total heat deficit
at the end of the current hour;
• summing that total heat deficit to the heating needs
at the beginning of the next hour.
If the total deficit is continuously increasing for several
hours, this means that the heat pump is undersized.
If the total deficit has a sudden rise when domestic hot
water service is requested and then decays in the next
few hours, then this should be accepted.
With this feature, no advantage is given because needs
are not reduced by a diminished internal temperature,
which would be the case if the information about the
actual reduced available power were passed to the
 !"
"!#!$




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heating needs module EN ISO 52016-1. In total,
the heat pump will produce the whole heating needs
but this will happen partly in the next hours with a
higher load factor, just like things happen in reality.
An example of such behaviour is shown in Figure 10.
Peaks of missing energy for heating are due to the
heat request for the domestic hot water preparation
(thermostat asking to restore the temperature in the
domestic hot water storage).
A possible criterion is that the transient deficit can be
considered acceptable if:
• there are no more than 3 (or any other number)
consecutive hours of increasing total heat deficit;
• the deficit is again zero in a maximum of 6 (or any
other number) hours.
If these criteria are not met, then a warning should
be issued and the output power deficit handled as a
true one.
This is also useful as a filter to sudden surges of heating
needs power generated by EN ISO 52016-1, that are
due to the assumption of perfect temperature control.
A step in gains is automatically transformed into an
instantaneous step in heating (or cooling) needs whilst
in reality it takes some time and some indoor tempera-
ture drift for the system to react.


















 
 
 
 ! "$ %& ' "$ %& (##&&)$ %&

Figure 10. Example of transient heating power deficit.

REHVA Journal – October 2021 15

 Articles

Domestic hot water only
The case of domestic hot water only should be further
refined, taken into account into the priority criterion
and a better connection should be sought with the
specific product standard.
A clarification about the meaning of the “thermostat-
off ”, “stand-by” and “crankcase heating” auxiliary
power defined in EN 14825 is needed. As an example,
it’s difficult to understand what can be the difference
between “thermostat-off ” and “stand-by”.
Publication
The new draft will be sent by CEN central secretariat
to the national standardisation bodies for the public
enquiry in the coming months.
The accompanying demonstration spreadsheet will
be published on EPB-Center website, together with
a short video explaining the calculation method and
the features of the spreadsheet.
If you read this article, you should be ready for the
impact. Have fun in commenting the new draft for
EN 15316-4-2.

Standards

prEN 15316-4-2: 2021 Energy performance of buildings — Method for calculation of system energy requirements
and system efficiencies – Part 4-2: Space heating generation systems, heat pump systems, Module M3-8-2, M8-8-2
(publication for enquiry expected late autumn 2021).

EN 15316-4-2:2017 Energy performance of buildings - Method for calculation of system energy requirements and system
efficiencies – Part 4-2: Space heating generation systems, heat pump systems, Module M3-8-2, M8-8-2.

EN 15316-1: 2017 Energy performance of buildings - Method for calculation of system energy requirements and system
efficiencies – Part 1: General and Energy performance expression, Module M3-1, M3-4, M3- 9, M8-1, M8-4.

EN 14511:2018 Air conditioners, liquid chilling packages and heat pumps for space heating and cooling and process
chillers, with electrically driven compressors – Part 1: Terms and definitions; Part 2: Test conditions; Part 3: Test methods;
Part 4: Requirements.

EN 14825:2018 Air conditioners, liquid chilling packages and heat pumps, with electrically driven compressors, for space
heating and cooling, commercial and process cooling - Testing and rating at part load conditions and calculation of
seasonal performance. (currently under revision, the prEN was published in 2020).

Literature
Heat pumps: lost in standards…, Laurent Socal, REHVA Journal 2020-04
(https://www.rehva.eu/rehva-journal/chapter/heat-pumps-lost-in-standards)

References
[1] The “approach” is the increase in temperature differences in a real heat exchanger with respect to an ideal (infinite)
heat exchanger. It increases at high power and tends to zero at low loads.
[2] The “II principle efficiency” is the ratio between the actual COP in a given operating condition and the maximum
theoretical COP with the same source and sink temperature.

16 REHVA Journal – October 2021